Foot-covering for horses.



No. 646,214. Patented Mar. 27, I900.

III. HALLANAN. FOOT COVERING FOR .HORSES.

A licti n tiled June 21, 1898.) (No Model.)

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- U rrnn STATES MICHAEL HALLANAN,

Aren't on NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters lE'atent No. 646,214, dated March 2'7, 1900.

Application filed June 21, 1898. $Brifi1N0- (N modem To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MIQHAEL I-IALLANAN', of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improveinents in Foot-Ooverings for Horses, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a footcovering for horses adapted to completely cover and protect the foot at the bottom, but having provision for automatically causing a circulation of air to the interior of thepad.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a face view showing my improved foot-covering, the view including an ordinary shoe having a part broken away. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the foot-covering, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and showing a part of the foot. Fig. 4 is a rear view of the foot-covering applied; and Fig. 5 is an inner face View or top view of the pad, the

' back plate being omitted.

In the use of pads in connection with horseshoes it is generally thought desirable and is the general practice to close the hoof completely, the hollows being stuffed with oakum, &c. The result is that the foot is kept in softer and better condition than when fitted with ordinary shoes only. It is, however, urged by some horsemen that there are horses whose feet become too soft by entirely covering them, and the present invention provides a foot-covering which will meet the requirements of horse owners having this opinion. In carrying out my invention I overcome the objections to merely omitting the oakum or other filling, as this omission alone would merely result in providing a lodgment for dirt and would not positively provide for the proper circulation of air to the foot. To secure the necessary circulation of air, I provide an air-chamber in a novel manner, as hereinafter particularly described, and defined in the claims.

, The back plate A is formed with an opening a at about its center, and to this back plate the depression in addition to enlarging the air-space brings the bottom I) of the depression lower down and so close to' the ground that even a slight unevenness of the ground will bring pressure onto the flexible diaphragm and cause the latter to be pressed inward to expel air from the air chamber. The air forced out by the diaphragm will escape between the top of the back plate and the bottom of the foot at the heel, as indicated by the letters 0 in Fig. 4, and air will enter as the diaphragm reacts. To provide a freer outlet and inlet, however, I form ducts b in the pad, leading rearwardly from the air-cham her to the outside beneath the plate A. The air passing outward and inward through the ducts b and spaces 0 will tend to prevent an accumulation of dust. In any event a small tool may be employed to maintain the pad in an effectively-clean condition. y

The pad on the face is formed with a frog or thickened heel part and with a ridge or bead B, which follows the lines of the shoe around'the diaphragm b. This form of pad is not herein claimed broadly, as it forms the subject of Letters Patent granted to me August 22, 1893, No. 503,849; but in the present instance it has a correlation to the diaphragm Z) and protects the latter by sustaining most of the wear, but the diaphragm being near the face of the said ridge or bead and being readily flexed will be acted on sufficiently to automatically expel and draw in the air.

The pad is shown with lateral extensions b which are rabbeted, as at b, and the shoe D extends only to the quarters, but these features form no part of my present invention.

To supplement the diaphragm, the thickened portion or frog is undercut or tapered, so as to yield adjacent to the diaphragm and coact with the latter in forcing out and drawing in the air.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A footcoverin g for horses, provided with a pad having depressions at its central portion both upon the upper and the lower sure face, to form between said depressions a diaphragm set back from the tread-surface.

2. A foot-covering for horses, &c., having an air-chamber which is open at the upper it side and is closed at the bottom by a flexible diaphragm, and the diaphragm being-surrounded by a ridge 0r bearing-surface projecting belon the diaphragm.

3. A foot-covering for horses, comprising a back plate and a yielding pad proper, the back plate being cut away to form an opening at about the center, leaving a clear space beneath the natural frog, and the yielding pad having a depressionin its upper surface complementary to a said opening, ,thelowerside of the depression being closed by a diaphragm which is bodily flexible, the-said fiexible diaphragm being theon-ly portion of the foot-covering beneath the natural frog.

1-. A foot-covering for horses, comprising a U back plate having an opening at about the center, and a pad. havinga depression complementary to said opening and having a rearwardly-extending duct leading from said depression below the back plate.

5. A pad for horses, having a central depressionu-pom its lower or tread side and a protecting-ridge surrounding said depression, and an air-chamber in the hoof side above the said depression, the pad between said depression and air-chamber thus forming a dia- ,phragm. i

6. The combination of the back plate having. a central opening, ,with a pad having on its hoof side a depression or ai r-chamber whose outline coincides with that of the opening, in a 1 the back plate, and a diaphragm below said air-chamber.

MICHAEL HALLANAN;

\Vitnesses:

EVERARD BOLTON MARSHALL, J. L. MOAULIFFE. 

